Conan: The Road of Kings #9
Written by Roy Thomas
Art by Dan Panosian
Colors by Dan Jackson
Letters by Richard Starkings
Cover by Aleksi Briclot
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: October 19, 2011
Cover Price: $3.50

Roy Thomas on Conan. What more could you want? This is classic Conan the Barbarian. Swords, sorcery, and everything that make up the genre. Except, there is a serious lack of scantily clad ladies in this issue. But, I’ll forgive you, Roy.

My one major complaint about the comic (and the Conan books in general) is that if by chance you’re picking up Conan on a whim, you might find yourself a little lost. Although there is a recap on the inside of each cover, with the Hyborian names, and all the political intrigue going on, it’s quite easy to become confused as to who’s who. But, still, Roy Thomas tells a fantastic Conan story. He hasn’t missed a beat.

Orchid #1
Written by Tom Morello
Art by Scott Hepburn
Colors by Dan Jackson
Cover by Massimo Carnevale
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: October 12, 2011
Cover Price: $1.00

In all honesty, I asked to review this mainly because it was written by Tom Morello, of Audioslave and Rage Against The Machine (one of my favorite bands ever) fame. I went in with an open mind and I truly expected something slightly strange…I was not disappointed. Orchid #1 is a glimpse into a future to which none of us wish to bear witness.

Orchid is the story of a world after the sea has risen and changed the topography of the land. The wealthy live up high while the poor are forced in dirty villages and live as slaves to the folks in charge. Nature has kicked evolution into overdrive and there some scary creatures living in the forests surrounding each town. We get to see some of the rebels who want to change the way things are but are both out manned and outgunned at every turn. One of them escapes the clutches of the authority only to find himself hiding with the family of Orchid, a local prostitute who also has a healthy sized rebellious streak. It all wraps up with them being carted off to be sold as slaves.

Angel & Faith Season 9 #2
Script by Christos Gage
Art by Rebekah Isaacs
Colors by Dan Jackson
Letters by Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt
Cover by Steve Morris
Alternate Cover by Rebekah Isaacs, Andy Owens and Dan Jackson
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: September 28, 2011
Cover Price: $2.99

Vampire drug dealers? Almost, but not quite. Angel & Faith Season 9 #2 opens up to a large fight on the streets of London. Faith and the girls are fighting a horned demon and his vampire cohorts in order to stop what they think is a drug deal. Lots of deaths later we find it wasn’t drugs at all, it’s…(sorry, no spoiler here).

Thanks to Angel stepping in at the end of the fight, one of the girls lives to fight another day. Luckily only Faith knows he was there…he is still persona non grata after the whole Twilight thing (a name that brings to mind other brooding vampires and way whinier cast members). Angel is still on the quest to redeem himself after his many mistakes in the past year. Whereas Faith, for all her faults, is trying to bring some sanity to his plans. His access to the Watcher Files isn’t helping, either. It just sort of feeds the fire that is keeping him going. Against her better judgement, Faith agrees to help him.